Chapter 3: Experiment with FPS

"Oooh, the soldier’s moving, the soldier’s moving. Crawling around all lively."

On the computer monitor, a 3D graphic of a man in camouflage carrying a rifle started crawling forward, moving in sync with the progress bar.

Top Chat: Crawling around lively lol
Top Chat: Is that a zombie?
Top Chat: First time I’ve seen someone this happy over a loading screen NPC’s movements
Top Chat: Do you not play games much?

"I only played three times at a friend’s house."

Top Chat: That’s rare nowadays
Top Chat: Even grade schoolers at least touch mobile games
Top Chat: Was that your parents’ rule?

"Yeah. ‘Waste of time. Ruins your eyesight.’ Games were banned. I didn’t care if my eyesight got worse—I just wanted to join in my friends’ conversations."

Top Chat: Ouch, that’s rough
Top Chat: Sounds like a strict mom

"So, this summer I’m gonna play games until I need bottle-bottom glasses."

Top Chat: Don’t go from one extreme to another lol
Top Chat: I’m starting to realize this elf only has ON and OFF modes
Top Chat: Looks like the loading’s almost done

"Oh, been waiting for this."

Clicking on the start screen brought up the name entry screen.

"Guess I’ll just go with ‘Elf.’"

Buzzer. Already in use. Hmph.
‘Elf202X’ is in use.
‘202XElf’ is in use.

"Give me a name."

Top Chat: Don’t give up thinking so fast lol
Top Chat: Use your brain a bit more
Top Chat: Maybe we, who are giving Elf-san names, are actually Elf-san’s brain…!
Top Chat: I’d rather be the baggy shirt than the brain
Top Chat: Same
Top Chat: What about the name of your body’s owner?

"Princess Bran’s name, huh."

‘Bran Lieleffi’ not in use. Perfect. Confirm.

Next up was avatar customization. Default’s fine.
Then, room selection. Lots of options.

"Which one should I pick?"

Top Chat: Better to make your own room than join one
Top Chat: If you make a 3v3 room, I’ll join
Top Chat: With five people, the viewers alone could fill it
Top Chat: We’ve got over 50 viewers now, plenty enough

After creating the room, the game asked to choose two starting weapons.

"What’s recommended?"

Top Chat: I think assault rifle and sniper rifle make a good combo
Top Chat: But honestly, all the starter gear is super weak
Top Chat: No armor either, so your defense is trash
Top Chat: Just swap them out for whatever you pick up on the stage

"Alright, game start."

As soon as “Start Battle” was selected, the screen switched. Under a bright clear sky, my team’s starting point was a hill overlooking a ruined city.

"Whoa, these ruins are amazing. Bullet holes everywhere, walls crumbling, rubble making the ground uneven. If I press a key, I can jump and run."

Top Chat: She’s so excited, it’s cute
Top Chat: Adorable
Top Chat: That joy feels more like a boy’s reaction

"I’m a boy, you know?"

Top Chat: Define “boy”
Top Chat: So, how do you plan to fight?

"The weapons lying around are stronger, right?"

Top Chat: Yes
Top Chat: Correct
Top Chat: Starter weapons are weak

"And armor too, I should pick some up, yeah?"

Top Chat: Exactly
Top Chat: Even the weakest armor gives you 20% more health
Top Chat: If you already get that, then obviously the next step is…?

"Chargeeee!"

Top Chat: Wha　　　t　　　the
Top Chat: Wrong
Top Chat: That’s not it
Top Chat: Nope
Top Chat: Go look for gear
Top Chat: How did it come to this

"Charge, chargeee!"

I dashed forward in search of enemies. Charging down the hill, stomping through rubble, cutting through gaps in broken walls. Once I reached the plaza at the center of the ruins, the enemy team’s starting point was right there—

"Enemy—!"

Top Chat: Ah
Top Chat: Ahh
Top Chat: Oh nooo
Top Chat: Yikes, ambushed and headshotted
Top Chat: No mercy even against a newbie Elf
Top Chat: Didn’t even get a good moment in
Top Chat: Well, managing even a counterattack is something
Top Chat: …Though the bullet whizzed right over their head lol

An enemy popped out from cover in the plaza and shot me down in one blow. A death notification appeared, and I couldn’t get back up.

"I can’t move."

Top Chat: You died lol

"Bug?"

Top Chat: Headshots reduce your HP to zero, that’s how it’s designed
Top Chat: Calling it a bug, lmao

"I died in one hit even though I didn’t fall out of bounds?"

Top Chat: This isn’t a fighting game lol
Top Chat: You really haven’t played games at all, huh

"So that means I can’t just recklessly charge in?"

Top Chat: Oh, so you did know you were being reckless lol
Top Chat: But seriously, what’s the actual way you’re supposed to play this game?
Top Chat: Like we said, since starter gear is weak, weapon scavenging is top priority
Top Chat: Once you’ve got some stuff, the basics are checking what gear your teammates got and building a strategy together
Top Chat: In other words, rushing in blindly is a bad move

"Then the guy who ambushed me must’ve been a beginner too."

Top Chat: Nope, he was watching the stream and waited on your route lolol
Top Chat: Bro
Top Chat: Hey hey hey

"Right, I forgot. I’m streaming, so of course they can see me."

Top Chat: Eh
Top Chat: Wait, no, hold on
Top Chat: Don’t say anything, this could be fun
Top Chat: Y-Yeah, that’s right—

While I was staring at the map, my teammates got wiped out in no time. The match ended.

"Alright, let’s go one more."

Top Chat: Absolutely!
Top Chat: Don’t bully Elf-san too much, okay?

Without changing participants or the stage, the second round began.

"Let’s go."

Top Chat: Heading straight for the plaza again?
Top Chat: No, she went into another path
Top Chat: This path leads to the plaza too
Top Chat: Is she trying to flank them?
Top Chat: Using her head, huh
Top Chat: But if they know she’s flanking, won’t she just get countered?
Top Chat: Yeah, exactly

The final stretch leading to the plaza. Out of all the ruined paths boxed in by collapsed walls, this one alone had the right conditions.

"Toh!"

Top Chat: Hm?
Top Chat: She jumped
Top Chat: Eh?
Top Chat: Wait, what?
Top Chat: Hold on—can you actually jump over walls!?

This path had a wall just barely low enough to clear, only a centimeter of leeway. With rubble as a foothold, I could just barely vault over. And waiting right beyond it was—the completely exposed back of an enemy camping my route by watching the stream.

"My win."

Top Chat: OHHHHHH
Top Chat: Damn, she completely turned the tables!
Top Chat: This is it!

My all-out burst of fire passed five centimeters above the enemy’s head.

"Huh?"

Top Chat: Cute

Bang. Dead.

"Why?"

Top Chat: I spat out my tea
Top Chat: It was a guaranteed win and you still lost lol
Top Chat: I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts
Top Chat: "My win."
Top Chat: lmao
Top Chat: But wow, I didn’t know you could actually jump over a wall there
Top Chat: Since even bullets can clip corners but can’t go through walls in this game, that’s pretty surprising
Top Chat: Honestly, that was a big discovery, but the punchline stole the whole show lol

"Maybe the gun barrel’s bent?"

Top Chat: It’s not bent
Top Chat: Starter weapons have weak damage and low ammo, but their accuracy is actually really good
Top Chat: Maybe doubt your own aim a bit more

"Hmm… I really thought that would hit…"

To miss a target just 9.2 meters away.

Top Chat: Well, you’re a beginner
Top Chat: Just shake it off and move on
Top Chat: Yeah, yeah, next match!

"Mm."

The match ended with my team completely wiped again. On to the third round.

Top Chat: Oh
Top Chat: She’s not charging in

"I want to test something."

Top Chat: Test?
Top Chat: You mean that warning fire you’re doing now?
Top Chat: Warning fire lol
Top Chat: Call it test-firing, at least lol

"Not hitting."

Top Chat: Where are you even aiming right now?

"The doorknob of that house 107 meters straight ahead."

Top Chat: 107 meters… seven?
Top Chat: Where’s that extra digit coming from?
Top Chat: Dude, the bullet just went flying over the roof
Top Chat: This is serious
Top Chat: Try getting closer

"Mm."

80 meters. Shot sailed over the roof.
60 meters. Hit the second floor.
40 meters. Hit the first-floor awning.
20 meters. Hit the top of the door frame.
10 meters. Landed 30 centimeters above the doorknob.

"Still not hitting."

Top Chat: What the… wait, what even is this…?
Top Chat: Left-right aim is dead-on, almost scarily so
Top Chat: But every single shot flies high
Top Chat: …Hey, could it be…
Top Chat: What?
Top Chat: Elf-san, you’re not accounting for bullet drop, are you?

"Arrows always drop, don’t they?"

Top Chat: Not arrows—bullets
Top Chat: The speed is way different, so unlike arrows, they hardly drop at all

"…Oh. Now that you say it…"

Top Chat: No no no no
Top Chat: I did the math: a girl’s bow with a 14kg draw weight launches arrows at about 40 meters per second
Top Chat: At 60 meters, that means an 11-meter drop. At 40 meters, 4.9 meters. At 20 meters, 1.2 meters. At 10 meters, 30 centimeters.
Top Chat: That matches your misses exactly lol
Top Chat: Hold on, I’ll calculate the bullet drop—shoot according to that next

"Alright, then I’ll try aiming at that bar sign 124 meters away."

Top Chat: There he goes again with the oddly specific numbers… Anyway, that bullet’s velocity is about 370 meters per second
Top Chat: Travel time’s around 0.3 seconds, so the drop should be 44 centimeters

"Here goes."

Top Chat: Whoa whoa whoa
Top Chat: Holy…
Top Chat: Dead center on the sign!
Top Chat: That’s insane!
Top Chat: Wait—did you even scope in just now? No, you didn’t, right?
Top Chat: …Don’t tell me you just eyeballed the distance without a reticle?
Top Chat: No way—don’t tell us you can actually tell distances down to the meter?

"I can tell down to ten centimeters… Huh? Wait, why can I do that?"

Top Chat: Bruh
Top Chat: That’s not human anymore
Top Chat: Straight-up superhuman!

"Elf bonus is crazy."

Top Chat: You’re just leaving it at that?!
Top Chat: Your mental is made of orichalcum or something!
Top Chat: So this is what being an elf means…
Top Chat: No wait, orichalcum was a mythical metal in Ancient Greek legends of Atlantis. So it has nothing to do with elves.
Top Chat: Elf trivia guy has logged in
Top Chat: Then… was there ever a proud dwarf refining orichalcum?
Top Chat: Nope. If there are no elves, there can’t be dwarves either. No elves, no dwarves.
Top Chat: Elf trivia guy strikes again lol

"With this, I can win."

Top Chat: Flag.
Top Chat: Total death flag.
Top Chat: Absolutely a flag.
Top Chat: The entire audience is united in this thought.
Top Chat: Correction: what everyone here’s calling an “elf” is actually a light elf, which in origin means a fairy of light. In contrast, dark elves, dwarves, and trolls are fairies of darkness. And where there is light, there must also be darkness. No elves, no dwarves.
Top Chat: …Okay, maybe not so united after all.